Postal Inspector Michael Martel confirmed with FOX 5 that these criminals are attempting to steal a master key, called an “arrow key,” to gain access to blue drop-off boxes and ultimately — your mail.
“Right now, the postal service is actually piloting a new, sort of mechanical-electronic interface on electronic blue boxes,” Martel said. “It devalues those keys, if you will, which is our goal. Some astronomical claims have been made, and we want to devalue them. We don’t want them to be the only thing to get into those blue boxes.”
For security reasons, the postal inspector did not say where these safety measures have been added or how many boxes in the greater D.C. region have been upgraded. However, he did confirm the District is involved in this pilot program.
The postal inspector did explain that the electric interface creates a two-step system to access the blue drop-off boxes that are being used in the pilot program. The master key alone won’t allow access.